Topic: Electromagnetics
Determine polarization loss factor for a circularly polarized signal upon reception by linearly polarized antenna
- A. $\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}$
- B. $\frac{1}{2}$
- C. 1
- D. 0
Answer: B. $\frac{1}{2}$
Explanation: When a circularly polarized signal is received by a linearly polarized antenna, exactly half of the signal power is received because the linear antenna can only pick up one of the two orthogonal linear components of the circularly polarized wave. Thus, the Polarization Loss Factor (PLF) is $1/2$ (or 3 dB).